The first was in 1906, a 6.4 near Kullu and the second was a 6.8 in Lahual-Spiti Kinnaur in 1975 along the Indo-China Border.

The Himalayan Frontal Thrust, the Main boundary Thrust, the Krol, the Giri, Jutogh and Nahan thrusts lie in this region. Besides that there are scores of smaller faults, like the Kaurik Fault which triggered the 1975 earthquake.

LARGEST INSTRUMENTED EARTHQUAKES
IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

The biggest Earth-shake recorded in Himachal Himalayas was on 4 April 1905 was of Kangra, Himachal pradesh, (Mw7.800:50 UTC,32.30N, 76.30E)

This is the deadliest earthquake in modern Indian history. Nearly 19,800 people were killed and thousands were injured in the Kangra area. Most buildings were destroyed at Kangra, Mcloudganj and Dharamshala. Damage also extended into the Dehradun area. Landslides and rockfalls occurred in the region. Damage was also reported from many large cities in the Punjab, like Amritsar, Lahore, Jallandhar and Ludhiana. Felt over much of the northern sub-continent, as Far East as Kolkata.

SEISMIC THREAT
Chamba, Kullu, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi, and Bilaspur Districts lie in Zone V. The remaining districts of Lahual and Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur lie in Zone IV. The GSHAP gave these regions the probability of having the maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) ranging from 0.16g to 0.4g.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT EARTHQUAKES
IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
Both instrumented and non-instrumented events may be listed below. Reported magnitudes are listed for instrumented events while maximum observed intensities are listed for non-instrumented shocks.

Some of the latter might also have magnitudes assigned to them by various authors, in which case the reference is stated. Please note that Magnitude and Intensity are NOT THE SAME.

28 February 1906:
Near Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Mw 6.432.00N, 77.00E
Damage and casualties in the Bashahr-Shimla hill states.

11 May 1930:
East of Sultanpur (Himachal Pradesh), 6.0 (TS)11:30:36 UTC, 31.70N, 77.00EA

22 June 1945:
Near Padua, Kathua District, J&K (H.P.:J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)18:00:51 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

10 July 1947:
Near Padua, Kathwad District, J&K (H.P.-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)10:19:20 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

12 August 1950:
Near Padua, Kathwad District, J&K (H.P.-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)03:59:06 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

12 September 1951:
Chamba-Udhampur Districts (H.P.:J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
20:41:48UTC, 33.30N, 76.50E

17 June 1955:
Lahual-Spiti District (Himachal Pradesh), 6.0 (TS)10:14:09UTC, 32.50N, 78.60E

17 June 1962:
Chamba-Udhampur Districts (Himachal Pradesh-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS) 04:39:26.60 UTC, 33.30N, 76.20E

19 January 1975:
SW of Dutung, Himachal Pradesh (Indo-China Border region), Ms 6.8 (NEIC)08:02:02.50, 32.455N, 78.430N, 33kms depth.
This earthquake struck in the early afternoon of January 19, 1975. It registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale. It caused havoc in parts of the Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti regions of India. 60 people were killed in this sparsely populated region.

21 October 1991:
Near Pilang (Uttarkashi District), Uttaranchal, Mw 6.8 (NEIC) 21:23:14 UTC / 02:53:14 IST, 30.78N, 78.77E.
Between 750 to 2000 people killed in the Garhwal region. It was also felt very strongly in Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Fatalities were also reported from Himachal Pradesh. Some minor damage was reported in Chandigarh and New Delhi.

9 August 1993:
Hindukush Mountains, Afghanistan, Mw 7.0 (NEIC, HRV)12:42:48.1 UTC, 36.379N, 70.868E, 215kms depth. Felt strongly over a wide region of south and central Asia, from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to as far south as Multan, Pakistan.

29th March 1999:
Near Gopeshwar (Chamoli District), Uttaranchal, Mw 6.5 (HRV)19:05:11 UTC, 30.492N, 79.288E.
115 people killed in the Garhwal region. The quake was felt very strongly in Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Haryana. In Haryana, one person was killed in

the city of Ambala and two at Nakodar in the neighbouring state of Punjab. Minor damage to buildings in New Delhi, most significantly in Patparganj. Minor damage also reported from Chandigarh.

According the latest research based on the obeservations, the scientists of the Himachal Pradesh Council of Science, Technology & Environment have predicted that there might be shift in the seismicity towards amirpur and Una, too. This means that nearly whole of the state will be under the threat of earth-quakes.

Keeping in view high seismicity of the State, the emphasis had been on building the quake resistant structures, including buildings and bridges. Some changes were made in Building Bye-laws, too.

However, the effective enforcement and implementation of these rules/ regulations is yet to be seen.The people must realise that precaution is better than cure. And safe buildings will save the lives of most precious creation of the Nature.

For details also see the website:
http://www.asc-india.org/seismic/hp.htm

Also contact State Council of Science,
Technology & Environment, SDA Complex, Shimla-171009.
Website: http://himachal.nic.in/hpscste